Department for Transport

London Underground

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Mayor of London about restarting the Night Tube in London to help business recovery in the winter period.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport is working closely with Transport for London (TfL) and other government departments to support London’s economic recovery. However, the responsibility for transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and TfL. This includes the decision to reinstate any night services on the TfL network and on 14 October TfL announced that the Night Tube will resume on Central and Victoria lines on 27 November.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Remote Working

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports that 50 per cent of civil servants at the DVLA are refusing to come back into the workplace, what steps they will take to outsource DVLA work to companies based in the UK and overseas.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: It is not correct that 50 per cent of civil servants at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) are refusing to come back into the workplace. In line with Welsh Government covid measures all staff who are carrying out a role that can be done from home, continue to do so. Staff who perform operational duties which cannot be done from home are working on site.The DVLA continues to explore opportunities to improve the time taken to deal with paper applications and has been developing new online services and recruiting additional staff. The DVLA has temporarily utilised the private sector for some elements of work only where it has been appropriate to do so.The DVLA is also looking to secure extra office space to accommodate more staff as surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency: Remote Working

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage of, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) staff are working from home; and how many are able to give full service to DVSA customers from home.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: During September 2021, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) had 1,389 staff members, 28.5% working from home continually. The DVSA is satisfied that all members of staff currently working from home are able to provide a full service to its customers as they adapt to hybrid working. Other staff are already either working a hybrid approach and providing a full service or working continually back in their work locations.

Driving Tests

Baroness Grender: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many driving licence test centres have closed in the last two years; and where any such closures have taken place.

Baroness Grender: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many test centres for driving theory examinations have closed in the last two years; and where any such closures have taken place.

Baroness Grender: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many driving licence test examiners based in Surrey there were in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, and (3) 2021.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has three driving test centres in Surrey: Reigate/Redhill, Guildford and Chertsey. The below figures show the number of full time and part time driving examiners permanently based at these centres:(1) 2019 – 17 full time and 6 part time driving examiners;(2) 2020 – 18 full time and 2 part time driving examiners;(3) 2021 – 17 full time driving examiners.The DVSA will deploy other driving examiners into the Surrey area depending on the demand for testing.In the last two years, the DVSA has closed 12 driving test centres. Those test centres are:Lerwick (Shetland) LGV, Patrick Green goods vehicle testing station (GVTS), Macclesfield multi-purpose test centre, Cheadle, Birmingham (Cocks Moor Woods), Llandrindod Wells, Westbury, Bristol, Hemel Hempstead, Greenford, Canterbury GVTS and Hayes.The DVSA continually reviews its operational estate to ensure that it is fit for purpose and represents good value for money for the public purse, while maintaining a good service provision across its operation. In the last two years, the DVSA has closed 18 theory test centres. The DVSA has relocated the testing provision for these 18 theory test centres to alternative locations within the new network that has greater coverage for candidates nationally to ensure testing provision can continue. The 18 closed theory test centres are: Blackpool, Clydebank, Driffield, Morpeth, Oldham, Salford, Scunthorpe, Skipton, Southport, St Helens, Wigan, Crawley, Basildon, Dereham, Ely, Harlow, Mansfield and Stevenage.Note that from 6 September the contract for running theory test centres has been split into three regions. The number of theory test centres in Great Britain will increase from 180 to 202.

Railways: Season Tickets

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 29 June (HL1509),whether they are now in a position to publish the research commissioned into potential interest in flexible rail season tickets; and what assessment they have made of long-term elasticities of demand for such tickets based on (1) the commissioned research, and (2) the public reaction to their introduction.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport commissioned quantitative and qualitative research to assess potential interest in flexible season tickets amongst rail users and non-users.This research is planned to be published in due course.

Shipbuilding: Isles of Scilly

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what, if any, funding (1) they, or (2) the EU, have (a) provided to, or (b) earmarked for, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group in connection with its work on developing plans for a new shipping vessel.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport is not aware of any UK Government or EU funding which has been provided or earmarked for the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, in connection with developing plans for a new shipping vessel.The Council of the Isles of Scilly have submitted a bid through the Levelling Up Fund, which includes the replacement of the existing freight and passenger vessels operated by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group. Bids are currently undergoing assessment, with Ministers expected to announce successful bids in the autumn.

Department of Health and Social Care

Children and Young People: Health Services and Social Services

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to tackle the backlog in health and social care assessments for disabled children and young people.

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to fund dedicated COVID-19 recovery policies for disabled children and young people and their families.

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Disabled Children’s Partnership Then There Was Silence, published on 10 September, which found that nearly three quarters of disabled children had seen their progress managing their condition regress during the pandemic.

Lord Kamall: As part of COVID-19 recovery planning, we are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve the provision of health and care services for disabled children. Children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) who require additional provision will receive an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan assessment. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 make clear that local authorities must complete an EHC plan assessment within twenty weeks after the request is received unless exceptional circumstances apply. The Department for Education monitors local authority performance on EHC plan assessments to establish where there are long-standing delays and provide support.The forthcoming Spending Review will set out the Government’s spending plans for health and social care for future years. We have announced an additional £5.4 billion for the National Health Service to support the COVID-19 response over the next six months. This includes £2 billion to reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children.We welcome the findings of the five reports by the Disabled Children’s Partnership between February and September 2021 and we are considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled children and their families.

Coronavirus: Drugs

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the (1)existing stock levels, (2) planned order quantities, and (3) delivery dates, for the COVID-19 antibody drug Ronapreve; andwhat is the(a) current, and (b) planned, geographic distribution of Ronapreve across England.

Lord Kamall: We are unable to provide the information requested on existing stock levels, planned order quantities and delivery of Ronapreve, as this is commercially sensitive. A contract is in place for stock held in the United Kingdom which is available to order across the four nations. However, information on the distribution of this stock is not held centrally. Hospitals are able to replenish their supplies of Ronapreve according to their admission rates, with the majority of hospitals in England providing acute care now registered to administer the drug.

Social Services

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the provision of social care for (1) the elderly, and (2) physically and mentally impaired people, at a (a) local, (b) regional, and (c) national, level.

Lord Kamall: The Department has not made a specific assessment. However, the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF), provides a consistent basis for local accountability and for measuring the outcomes and experience of people who use social care services, including people over 65 years old, younger adults, adults with a learning disability and adults in contact with secondary mental health services.The ASCOF figures are available at local authority, regional, and national level and is used to measure progress, set priorities for care and support and strengthen transparency and accountability. The Government does not seek to performance manage councils in relation to any of the measures set out in this Framework. The ASCOF informs and supports improvement led by the sector itself, underpinned by strengthened transparency and local accountability.

Department for Education

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Baroness Wilcox of Newport: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many schools have met the threshold specified in the Department for Education document Contingency framework: education and childcare settings for further steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within schools since the beginning of the academic year; and whether they will publish regular updates on this.

Baroness Barran: The department does not collect the data in question and does not currently have any plans to publish regular updates on this. However, we closely review data, analysis and advice from a number of different sources – including the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, and the Office for National Statistics. We also continue to work closely with local authorities and their Directors of Public Health to inform our planning and response. The contingency framework describes the principles of managing local outbreaks of COVID-19 in education and childcare settings and sets out the measures that settings should be prepared for if they were advised to take extra measures to help break chains of transmission. It also sets out thresholds for managing COVID-19 cases and when settings should consider seeking public health advice. As the guidance outlines, local authorities, Directors of Public Health (DsPH) and health protection teams (HPTs) can recommend measures described in the framework in individual education and childcare settings as part of their outbreak management responsibilities. We have worked with the UKSHA to develop the thresholds outlined in the contingency framework. These are designed to help settings identify when it might be sensible to seek public health advice when it appears that COVID-19 might be spreading between people who closely mix in the setting. Identifying a group that is likely to have mixed closely will be different for each setting. DsPH or HPTs will give settings advice reflecting the local situation. In areas where rates are high, this may include advice that local circumstances mean that the thresholds for extra action can be higher than set out in the contingency framework. This will take into account a range of factors reflecting the setting’s particular situation and local circumstances. If they judge that additional action should be taken, they might advise the setting to take some or all of the other measures described in the contingency framework.

Languages: GCSE

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the responses to the consultation on proposed reforms to modern language GCSEs.

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the submission to the consultation on reforms to modern language GCSEs from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages will be recorded as one response, or reflect its endorsement by almost 100 organisations and 1,000 individuals.

Baroness Barran: The government intends to publish its response to the consultation before the end of this year. The response of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Language (APPGML) to the government’s consultation on the revised GCSE modern foreign language subject content review will be recorded as one response. Individuals and organisations are always advised to respond directly to government consultations, rather than to be signatories of independent campaigns. In addition, we know that a number of organisations and individuals who endorsed the APPGML statement also responded to the government consultation separately. By doing so, the government is able to consider responses systematically, including the responses of individuals and organisations to the specific questions in the consultation.

Teaching Methods

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many tutoring opportunities for children in England are currently available at (1) primary schools, (2) secondary schools, and (3) schools catering for special educational needs.

Baroness Barran: For this academic year the National Tutoring Programme will offer access to high quality tuition for up to 2 million pupils.The latest figures for the current academic year, to the end of September 2021 are:40 Tuition Partners have been accredited2,800 schools have placed orders with Tuition Partners6,400 pupils started a tuition program with Tuition Partners353 Academic Mentors have been placed in schoolsAll state-funded primary and secondary schools in England, including academies and free schools, have also received funding to deliver school-led tutoring giving them the flexibility to choose their own tutors. Funding has been calculated based on the number of pupil premium students in individual schools.There is currently no comprehensive break down between primary schools and secondary schools. The department will have this information by the end of the autumn term.Specialist settings including special schools and academies, alternative provision, pupil referral units and hospital schools, will receive an uplift to their school led tuition funding to cater for the additional per pupil costs they face.I can confirm we have Tuition Partners who between them have capacity to support a total of 80,000 pupils in special educational needs settings.

Languages: Classroom Assistants

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value to language learning in secondary schools of foreign language classroom assistants.

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on (1) language learning in UK schools, and (2) the teaching of English in schools overseas, of the removal from the tiered visa regime for unpaid student internships.

Baroness Barran: We continue to welcome talented individuals from overseas to teach or train to teach in the UK, including through the Language Assistants Programme (LAP). The programme is owned by the Department for Education and delivered by the British Council.Over 150 UK institutions hosted language assistants last year. Annual evaluation reported that language assistants made a significant impact on attainment and learning outcomes for pupils, including improved exam grades, improved cultural awareness, improved standards in listening and speaking, and improved confidence in using the language.In addition, as part of the LAP, around 2,500 UK students are able travel to 15 destinations to support the teaching of English, through paid teaching placements around the world. UK students rated their experience positively, with improved teaching and language skills.The Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) scheme also provides individuals with opportunities to come to the UK for a short time for work experience, training, to complete an Overseas Government Language Programme, and for research or a fellowship. Students are also permitted to undertake a work placement as part of a course on the student route, provided the work placement is an integrated and assessed part of the course of study. The Appendix GAE lists all the schemes available and more information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-government-authorised-exchange-schemes.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government for each of the past ten years, how many (1) women, and (2) men, have had their state pension reduced owing to the death of a partner.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The information requested is not normally held as part of normal business and cannot be provided as this would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Baroness Wilcox of Newport: To ask Her Majesty's Government what modelling they have conducted on the impact of ending the £20 uplift for Universal Credit on (1) homelessness, (2) poverty, and (3) food bank usage; and what the modelling predicted the impact would be for each issue.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the impact of removing the £20 uplift on poverty or related issues. This is due to the uncertainty around the speed and distribution of the economic recovery.The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.The latest poverty figures (2019/20) demonstrate that absolute poverty rates (both before and after housing costs) for working-age adults in working families have fallen since 2009/10. In 2019/20, 8% of working age adults in working families were in absolute poverty (before housing costs), compared to 9% in 2009/10.There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty.Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. Our Plan is working, as we see record numbers of job vacancies and numbers of employees on payrolls back at pre-pandemic levels.However, we recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England and allocations to individual local authorities are set out below. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.

COP26

Climate Change: Developing Countries

Lord Cashman: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 2015 Paris climate talks commitment to provide $100 billion to developing countries; and whether they intend to make any such assessment publicly available during COP26.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The commitment to jointly mobilise $100bn of climate finance a year promised to developing countries in 2009, and again in 2015, is critically important to helping developing countries transition to cleaner economies and protecting those worst affected by the impacts of climate change. The UK Presidency has been pushing developed countries to meet existing commitments and come forward with ambitious post-2020 climate finance pledges, to achieve and surpass the $100bn a year goal. The COP President Designate has also asked Germany and Canada to lead on the development of a Delivery Plan which sets out how donor countries will meet the goal. This plan will be published in advance of COP.

Treasury

Hospitality Industry: VAT

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the 12.5 per cent rate of VAT on hospitality until 2024 to help rebuild the nightlife sector.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July 2020 to support the cash flow and viability of around 150,000 businesses and protect over 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors. As announced at Budget 2021, the Government has extended the temporary reduced rate of VAT of 5% for the tourism and hospitality sector. This relief ended on 30 September 2021. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5% was introduced to help ease affected businesses back to the standard rate. This new rate will end on 31 March 2022. This relief will cost over £7 billion and, while the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no plans to extend the 12.5% reduced rate of VAT. Applying this relief for a longer period would come at a very significant further cost, with any reduction in tax paid resulting in a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS and policing.

Civil Servants: Remote Working

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 22 September regarding Treasury civil servants working remotely (HL2572), what plans they have to investigate the possibility of cost savings by employing non-British staff working from homes overseas.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: HMT applies Civil Service central policy in relation to working from other countries. All HMT staff are contracted to attend offices on a regular basis and there are no current plans to investigate the possibility of employing staff who live overseas.